Success has not come easily for McCann, we worked for years to groom talent: Prasoon Joshi

McCann Worldgroup India came out on top after it won the Agency of the Year title — that's twice in a row.

Mumbai: The Effie Awards is a classic example of how advertising awards shows have always changed over the years. In the past, typically, it was a battle between top contenders Ogilvy and Lowe Lintas, particularly for the Agency of the Year title.

But the results at last year and this year's Effie Awards, that took place on Friday, surprised many in the industry. McCann Worldgroup India came out on top after it won the Agency of the Year title — that's twice in a row. In an exclusive chat with BE, Prasoon Joshi, CEO & CCO of McCann Worldgroup India, and chairman McCann Asia Pacific, shares what his team has been doing right to grab attention, awards and new business.

“WE ARE NOT CONSUMED WITH ADVERTISING”While his agency has a strong roster of multinational clients such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Mastercard, among others, McCann is now also making an effort to work with new-age brands like Paytm and Ikea, says Joshi. “We are not consumed with advertising. The way we look at redefining ourselves is by working with brands that would need solutions that are experimentative. Having said that, we also keep doing conventional communication, that’s essential, too,” he says.

The agency has been winning awards for its work in healthcare space, experiential marketing, and a lot of other social-based campaigns.

Joshi believes that it is ‘McCanness’ that has helped his team grow stronger over the years. “Success hasn’t come easily to us. We have worked for years to groom talent, which is all homegrown. Today, agencies want remade solutions. The reason why people stay with us is because of the cultural fit — it is created collectively in our agency. That’s why people return to us.” Recently, Ashish Chakravarty returned to McCann as executive director and head of creative, India.

“ELECTIONS ARE A GREAT WAY TO STUDY CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR”As far as 2019 is concerned, Prasoon Joshi is banking on the general elections.

He says, “In my opinion, you learn a lot about what people are thinking, their ambitions, their beliefs, during the election season. It’s a great way to study consumer behaviour. Working with clients who want to engage with consumers during this season is an opportunity that we are looking forward to.”

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